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(NEW YORK) — While the latest release of Epstein files has touched off another round of controversy in the U.S., it has ignited a veritable firestorm in Europe, where the new tranche of emails, text messages, videos on photographs released by the Department of Justice has painted a far more comprehensive picture of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s relationship with members of the global elite.

And while a mention in the files does not immediately imply wrongdoing, last week’s data dump has led to a chorus of high-profile figures explaining, and in many cases apologizing for, their connection to Epstein. Reputations have been tarnished, in some cases irrevocably.

These latest files show the range and depth of Epstein’s extraordinary reach into the upper echelons of society. Among the new names from the European elite are Norway’s crown princess and the Slovak national security adviser.

For now, the repercussions are being felt the most acutely in the U.K., where a prince of the realm has lost his title and his home, a senior member of the governing Labour party has lost his position in the House of Lords, a police investigation has been launched into misconduct in public office, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer — whose name has not appeared in the released files — is now fighting for his political survival.

The recently published files have laid bare the extent of Epstein’s contact with the former Prince Andrew and former British Ambassador Peter Mandelson — touching off a crisis at both the heart of the government and the monarchy.

“The scandal seems to matter more here, with graver consequences, because it strikes at the monarchy, the British establishment and the political elite. It’s not just about the behavior of one disgraced man,” Robert Jobson, royal author and ABC royal contributor told ABC News.

There are difficult questions for the monarchy to face, Jobson said, “If senior royal family members and courtiers knew about Epstein’s activities and did nothing” and if they “chose to protect the monarchy at the expense of vulnerable young women.”

“If they did not know, then the institution they oversee is not merely flawed but dangerously incompetent. Neither explanation is excusable,” Jobson said.

Buckingham Palace’s most recent statement on the matter, which came on Oct. 25, announced the stripping of Andrew’s titles and said, “Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.”

In rare public hecklings, both the king and queen have been asked whether they will help with the Epstein investigation. Neither responded. It is extremely unusual for them to be approached in this way, and royals very rarely respond to such questions.

The only senior royal to address these latest revelations has been Prince Edward, who responded to a reporter’s question by emphasizing his support for the victims, saying, “I think it’s all really important always to remember the victims and who are the victims in all this? A lot of victims in this.”

“The central issue in the Epstein scandal has never been Andrew alone,” Jobson said. “It is the question the Palace has spent more than a decade avoiding: What did the late queen and King Charles know? And when did they know it?”

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, was stripped of all his titles last October after some of his email exchanges with Epstein were leaked to the press. He vacated his home at Royal Lodge on Monday, and will now live on the King’s privately owned Sandringham Estate.

The scandal, which has hounded the royal family for decades, erupted after one of Epstein’s victims, Virginia Giuffre, accused Mountbatten-Windsor of sexual assault. In 2022, Mountbatten-Windsor, who has always denied any wrongdoing, settled a civil suit with Giuffre.

“The Queen personally funded Andrew’s legal defense. She later allowed him to walk beside her at the Duke of Edinburgh’s memorial service in 2022, a move widely interpreted as an attempt at rehabilitation. It has now backfired, blown up in the King’s face,” Jobson told ABC News.

Mountbatten-Windsor, then Prince Andrew, told the BBC’s Emily Maitlis that he cut off all contact with Epstein in 2010, shortly after Epstein completed his sentence for solicitation of a minor in Florida — but last week the Department of Justice released emails between the two dating from 2011 and correspondence between his team and Epstein as recently as 2017.  

“The press is piling on me in the states.. nothing to do. just want to make sure you’re ok,” Epstein wrote to Andrew on Feb 28, 2011.

“I’m just as concerned for you! Don’t worry about me!” Andrew replied to Epstein. “It would seem we are in this together and will have to rise above it!…keep in close touch and we’ll play some more soon!!!!”

In another exchange, Epstein sent Mountbatten-Windsor a message encouraging him to have dinner with a friend, about whom he said, “She 26, russian, clevere [sic] beautiful, trustworthy.”

Mountbatten-Windsor replied he would be “delighted.”

Last week, following the emails’ release, a second woman came forward to accuse Epstein of trafficking her to have sex with Mountbatten-Windsor, according to the BBC. Her lawyer, Brad Edwards told the BBC, “We’re talking about at least one woman who was sent by Jeffrey Epstein over to Prince Andrew. And she even had, after a night with Prince Andrew, a tour of Buckingham Palace.”

Thames Valley Police released a statement saying, “We are aware of reports about a woman said to have been taken to an address in Windsor in 2010 for sexual purposes. We are assessing the information in line with our established procedures.”

Buckingham Palace has not commented on any of the latest revelations, telling ABC News that they no longer represent Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

The former prince has yet to publicly comment on these latest documents.

“The scandal is not defined only by what Prince Andrew may have done,” Jobson said. “It is defined by what the institution chose to conceal. And that question has still not been answered.”

Peter Mandelson

While the monarchy has been trying to contain the damage, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been fending off criticism for his appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson as the British ambassador to the U.S. in 2024.

“I regret appointing him. If I knew then what I know now, he would never been anywhere near government,” Starmer told the House of Commons on Wednesday.

Nicknamed the “Prince of Darkness” by the British press, Mandelson has long been a controversial figure and many questioned Starmer’s choice of ambassador at the time — but the prime minister maintains he did not know “the depth and the darkness” of Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein.

He apologized twice on Thursday for his misjudgment, telling reporters, “The victims of Epstein have lived with trauma that most of us can barely comprehend, and they’ve had to relive it again and again.”

“They have seen accountability delayed and too often denied,” Starmer said. “To them, I want to say this: I am sorry. Sorry for what was done to you. Sorry that so many people with power failed you. Sorry for having believed Mandelson’s lies and appointed him.”

The prime minister told the press that Mandelson had downplayed his friendship with Epstein, saying, “He portrayed Epstein as someone he barely knew, and when that became clear, and it was not true, I sacked him. Such deceit is incompatible with public service.”

Mandelson was removed from his post as British ambassador last September, following the release by the U.S. House Oversight Committee of Epstein’s so-called “Birthday Book,” in which Mandelson referred to Epstein as his “best pal”.

The emails released last Friday show that Epstein and the former ambassador and government minister communicated for years, including after Epstein had pleaded guilty to sex crimes in Florida in 2008. The exchanges between the pair have led police to launch an investigation into potential misconduct in office.

On May 9, 2010, while Epstein was still on probation in Florida, he emailed Mandelson to say that “sources tell” him about an imminent 500 billion euro bailout. A person whose identity is redacted replied that the bailout will “be announced tonight.” The person says later that they are “just leaving No10”, presumably referring to the prime minister’s residence at Number 10 Downing Street.

The European Union announced a 500 billion Euro fund to stabilize the Euro that day.

The Metropolitan Police said in a statement on Monday that it had “received a number of reports into alleged misconduct in public office including a referral from the UK Government” and that “the Metropolitan Police has now launched an investigation into a 72-year-old man, a former Government Minister, for misconduct in public office offences.”

The statement does not mention the Mandelson, 72, by name.

On Friday the Metropolitan Police announced they were searching two properties in connection with the investigation.

Bank statements also appeared in the recently released documents which appear to show Epstein transferred as much as $75,000 to Mandelson between 2003 and 2004.

Mandelson submitted his resignation to the Labour Party on Monday, writing in his resignation letter, “I have been further linked this weekend to the understandable furore surrounding Jeffrey Epstein and I feel regretful and sorry about this.”

The Speaker for the House of Lords in Parliament also announced that Mandelson had submitted his resignation from the chamber.

“Britain has dethroned a prince, forced Mandelson to resign, & lost confidence in Starmer because @RepThomasMassie & I forced the release of the Epstein files,” U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna posted on X Friday. “What is America doing to hold the Epstein class accountable?”

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(ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) — A grand jury has indicted actor Timothy Busfield on child sex abuse contact charges after his arrest last month, according to officials.

Busfield is facing multiple counts of criminal sexual contact of a child, according to Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman.

“District Attorney Sam Bregman emphasized that protecting children remains a top priority for his office. The Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office remains committed to doing everything possible to protect children and ensure justice for victims,” the district attorney’s office said in a statement Friday.

Busfield was arrested last month and ordered released by a judge.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(NEW YORK) — Luigi Mangione spoke out in court on Friday as Judge Gregory Carro tentatively scheduled his state murder case to begin on June 8.

Last week, U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett announced that Mangione’s federal trial will begin with jury selection on Sept. 8 and opening statements on Oct. 13. But Carro said Friday that he believes the state case should go to trial first.

“It appears that the federal government has reneged on their agreement to let the state, who did most of the work in this case, to go first,” he remarked at the beginning of the hearing. 

Carro ended the hearing with a stern directive to defense lawyers, who repeatedly pushed back on the June 8 trial date. 

“You have done a great job, so be ready on June 8,” Carro told the defense. “That’s it.”

Seconds later, Mangione himself protested the judge’s decision as he was escorted out of court.

Mangione, shackled and wearing tan jail attire, looked toward the gallery and loudly said, “One plus one is two. Double jeopardy, by any common-sense definition.”

Defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo repeatedly argued during the hearing that the June date would leave them unprepared and would be unfair to Mangione.  

“The defense will not be ready on June 8,” she said. “Mr. Mangione is being put in an untenable situation that is a tug of war between two different prosecution officers.”

Prosecutor Joel Seidemann responded by arguing that the defense is trying to
deprive [them] of a right to try the case” by creating a double jeopardy issue. 

“It is absolutely unfair that Mr. Seidemann wants two bites of the apple,” Friedman Agnifilo said. “New York state has a double jeopardy law for a reason.”

“Counsel is seeking to jeopardize us out of the federal case,” Seidemann responded. “We have every reason to be the prosecuting authority.”

Seidemann argued that state prosecutors and investigators have done the bulk of the investigation and should be able to try a murder that took place on the streets of Manhattan. He claimed that the family of the victim, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, requested that the state case go first. 

“That’s something certainly to be considered,” Seidemann said. 

While Carro suggested that defense lawyers could resolve the conflict by asking the federal judge to delay the federal case, Friedman Agnifilo said she would not do so. 

“It would be legal malpractice for us to do something that is not in our client’s best interest,” she said. “We have been working round the clock in both cases, fighting both cases.”

Carro said he could push the trial date to Sept. 8 if the Department of Justice decides to appeal a ruling in Mangione’s federal case. 

Mangione, who is accused of gunning down Thompson outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel in December 2024, has pleaded not guilty to the state and federal charges. The federal judge last week took the death penalty off the table in the federal case.

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(NEW YORK) — Luigi Mangione’s state murder case is tentatively scheduled to begin on June 8, Judge Gregory Carro said on Friday.

Carro said he could push the trial date to Sept. 8 if the Department of Justice decides to appeal a ruling in Mangione’s federal case. 

Mangione, who is accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan in December 2024, has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. 

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(NEW YORK) — At least 100 million Americans are on alert for dangerous cold weather in the coming days across the East as brutal, eye-watering cold winds — the coldest of the season for some — are expected across the Northeast this weekend.

Wind chills in the -20s are possible in Michigan and northern Ohio through Saturday morning, with -10s for southern Ohio and West Virginia.

Richmond, Virginia, could reach below-zero wind chills this weekend.

Extreme cold warnings are in place across much of the Northeast, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont.

New York City could reach as low as -20 this weekend, and upstate New York around Saranac Lake could reach -40. Frostbite can occur in 10 minutes on exposed skin. 

Much of this extreme cold is due to strong winds gusting 30 to 50 mph this weekend, especially Saturday.   

Monday morning will still be very cold across the Northeast, but the wind will be calmer, so wind chills won’t be as extreme.

Slowly through the week, a warming trend is expected across the East, with high temperatures going above freezing for New York City and Boston on Wednesday, possibly even on Tuesday. 

The end of next week is looking above average across the middle of the country, while the Northeast feels seasonal mid-February winter temperatures.

The system ushering in the brutal cold also brings some snow.

Friday morning, snow was falling over Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, western Pennsylvania and western New York.

By Friday afternoon, snow will become more scattered and fall from the Appalachians of western North Carolina through upstate New York.

A few light snow showers or flurries will pass over New York City on Friday night, and much of Saturday is looking dry. A dusting up to 1 inch of snow is possible over the city on Friday night. 

On Saturday, Boston and much of New England will continue to see passing snow showers.

Boston could see 2 to 4 inches of snow through Saturday evening.

The western New York I-90 corridor could see 2 to 5 inches of snow through Saturday evening, including Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo.

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(SANTA CLARA, Calif.) — There will be a “substantial law enforcement presence” in the Bay Area for the week leading up to Super Bowl Sunday, the man who is leading it all told ABC News.

“We have multiple command centers that we are operating as the federal government in concert with our local partners,” Jeff Brannigan, the Department of Homeland Security federal coordinator, told ABC News in an interview. “It’s a broad footprint with a lot of personnel. Some are uniformed and, very clearly, government officials of some way.”

Others are working behind the scenes, he said.

The Super Bowl is a SEAR 1 event, meaning there is extensive federal security coordination.

“The federal government has brought resources to bear to augment the security planning of the cities of Santa Clara, San Francisco and San Jose, and we have brought resources that those cities don’t necessarily have, and that really is a full-domain security posture to include air support, maritime support and support on the ground,” he said.

The federal government will have support from the FBI; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S Coast Guard; aerial assets from Customs and Border Protection; the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA); and even a helicopter that scans for nuclear technology.

Brannigan said he couldn’t get into specifics, but that there are “hundreds of federal special agents from across the government,” working with local police departments to provide security for the event.

Brian Clark, the associate chief of operations for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Pacific and Southwest region, said his agency is also providing support to state and local law enforcement in the area.

“For Super Bowl events, you have a lot of human trafficking that comes in,” he said. “You’ll also see a lot of drug trafficking that comes in the area for parties and things … So we would like to say for people to be aware, to have that conversation. Take this time, when you’re gathering with your friends and family, have that conversation about the dangers of fentanyl, because one pill, one time can kill.”

There are also law enforcement from outside the immediate area that are being brought in for “mutual aid,” Brannigan said.

Some of the concerns are lone wolf attackers, threats from drones and cyberattacks, he said.

“Oftentimes, people you know will see something and they want to dismiss it as that’s, ‘That’s my imagination,’ or ‘That’s not an issue,'” he said. “It is always better for members of the public to call the police and tell them about something they find suspicious, let the police investigate it, determine it isn’t an issue. But if you see something, say something.”

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(NEW YORK) — It has been a tale of two winters on the opposing U.S. coasts this season.

While the East has been slammed with frigid temperatures and punishing winter storms, the West is experiencing a snow drought amid warmer-than-normal temperatures.

Prolonged drought across much of the West has been worsened this winter by below‑average snowfall and persistent warmth, fueling a widespread and intensifying snow drought. With sharply reduced mountain snowpack, the region’s water supplies and winter tourism are facing mounting challenges, experts told ABC News.

“This winter, we’ve just had an extreme lack of storm activity, and the storms that we have had have either brought very small amounts of snowfall or have brought rain,” Jon Meyer, assistant Utah state climatologist, told ABC News.

Warm temperatures have prevented snow from accumulating

Much of the western United States entered winter already grappling with a lack of rain. Widespread moderate to severe drought conditions stretched from New Mexico to Washington, including much of the Colorado River Basin, leaving soil moisture low and reservoir levels depleted heading into the season.

More than one-third of the West is currently facing some form of drought condition, with much of Utah, Colorado and New Mexico experiencing a moderate drought or worse, according to the U.S. Drought Mitigation Center’s U.S. Drought Monitor.

Utah is facing the worst drought conditions among western states, with more than 94% of the state experiencing what the USDM categorizes as a Moderate Drought and more than 40% of the state experiencing Severe Drought.

Salt Lake City has only received a tenth of an inch of snow so far this season – the lowest to date since records began in 1874, according to the National Weather Service. Their lowest seasonal snowfall was 14.3 inches during the winter of 1933-34. By comparison, parts of the Southeast, which typically don’t see much snowfall, have seen more snow than Salt Lake City this season.

“Just totally uncharted territory for the amount of low-elevation and mid-elevation snowfall Utah has seen, and that’s a pattern that’s played out across much of the Western U.S.,” Meyer said.

While many western states received average or above-average precipitation in the fall and early winter, warmer temperatures caused much of it to fall as rain rather than snow, leading to unusually low snowpack and a rapidly developing snow drought.

“If you look at most of the West, it’s at or above average, with regards to precipitation to date,” Eric Sproles, an associate professor of earth sciences at Montana State University, told ABC News. “But if you look at the the amount of water that’s stored in the snow pack is, it’s pretty bleak.”

Meteorological winter, which begins in the U.S. on December 1, kicked off with record warmth across much of the West. December 2025 was the warmest December on record for cities including Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona; Las Vegas, Nevada; Salt Lake City, Utah; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Portland, Oregon and Boise, Idaho, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Nine western states – Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming – recorded their warmest December on record. For the winter season to date, Colorado is currently experiencing its warmest winter since 1934, while Utah is experiencing its warmest winter on record, according to NOAA.

The snow drought is threatening water supplies

Drought on its own already stresses water supplies, agriculture and ecosystems. But when winter fails to deliver significant mountain snow, the resulting snow drought – a period of abnormally little snowpack for the time of year – can intensify those impacts, according to NOAA.

The snowpack typically acts as a natural water reservoir. However, without an adequate snowpack to slowly release water through the spring and summer snow melt, rivers run lower, soils dry out earlier, and drought conditions can deepen and linger.

Melting snow provides a slow release of the water into reservoirs and dams but also recharges ground water as well, Sproles said: “That slow, steady release is important. The snowpack is kind of like a savings account.”

In Utah, the snow water equivalent – meaning how much water is in the snowpack – is currently at only 55% of its median, which is the lowest snow water equivalent to date. Moreover, only a quarter of the state has seen a ground snow cover depth of at least 1 inch.

Colorado and Oregon are also reporting their lowest snow water equivalents to date, with Montana approaching its lowest snow water equivalent to date.

In much of the West, snowmelt provides a large percentage of the water used by communities, agriculture, and ecosystems; in some states, up to about 75 percent of the water supply can come from melting snow, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. As such, the snow water equivalent is a vital measure of the region’s water resources.

According to NOAA, a persistent snow drought can trigger a cascade of hydrologic changes. Low snowpack and early snowmelt can affect vegetation, reduce surface and subsurface water storage and alter streamflow, all of which directly impact water management and planning across the West.

While soil moisture in not currently a concern, it could dry out over the next couple of months, according to Meyer.

“We’ve become critically reliant on soil moisture observations for drought monitoring and predictions,” Meyer said.

The reservoirs along the Colorado River are especially threatened, the experts said. Major reservoirs in the Colorado River Basin remain well below average, according to latest figures from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR). As of early February, Lake Powell, in southern Utah and northern Arizona, was about 26 % full, while Lake Mead – the nation’s largest reservoir by volume, located in Arizona and Nevada – was about 34% full.

Total storage in the Colorado River system, which provides water for more than 40 million people and fuels hydropower resources in seven western states, was roughly 37% of capacity, down from about 42% at the same time last year, according to the USBR, which has flagged 13 reservoirs, the majority located in the West, for having the lowest observed water storage levels for the current time period.

The Colorado River system also serves as a vital resource for 30 tribal nations, sustaining 5.5 million acres of farmland and agricultural communities throughout the West, while also supporting critical ecosystems and protecting endangered species, the USBR said.

Winter sports have been impacted by lack of snow

The snow drought is also impacting local economies that rely on winter sports, an industry that contributes $20 billion annually to the U.S. economy, according to The Climate Reality Project.

“The resort winter tourism is a huge economic backbone for many of these mountain resort communities,” Marcene Mitchell, senior vice president for climate change for the World Wildlife Fund, told ABC News. “And so as they lose their snowfall, they also lose these revenue.”

Vail Resorts, a Colorado-based company that owns and operates some of the largest ski resorts in North America, reported in January that skier visits to its North American resorts were down about 20% through Jan. 4, compared to the same period last year. The company issued the update as a mid-season report on skier visits and revenue, citing a lack of early-season snowfall as a major factor in the decline.

Season-to-date total lift revenue, including an allocated portion of season pass revenue, was down 1.8% from the same period last year, said the tourism company, which operates dozens of resorts across North America, including Vail Mountain and Breckenridge in Colorado and Park City Mountain in Utah.

“We experienced one of the worst early season snowfalls in the western U.S. in over 30 years, which limited our ability to open terrain and negatively impacted visitation and ancillary spending for both local and destination guests during the period,” Chief Executive Officer Rob Katz said in a statement.

Vail’s Tahoe-area resorts in California also had a slow start through mid-December, but holiday-period snowstorms allowed the company to open more terrain, Katz said.

February and March typically can bring significant amounts of snow to the region, and odds favor above-average precipitation for much of the region over the next few weeks, according to NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, with persistent unusually warm conditions less likely. However, NOAA notes, snowfall in the coming months may not be able to make up for existing deficits.

Forecasters further caution that this pattern may not last for the rest of the month, with overall warmer and drier-than-average conditions still favored for the month as a whole.

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(MANSFIELD, Calif.) — A freight train carrying flammable liquids derailed in Connecticut on Thursday, prompting a shelter-in-place advisory, officials said.

Approximately 14 railcars of a New England Central Railroad (NECR) train went off the tracks shortly after 9 a.m. in Mansfield near a body of water, fire officials said.

Six railcars carrying liquid propane went fully off the track, with four ending up in water, officials said.

Other derailed cars were carrying liquified natural gas and cooking grease, according to Mansfield Fire Chief John Roache.

The derailment occurred along the Willimantic River, near Eagleville Lake, according to NECR.

Air monitoring has not detected any flammable leaks from any of the train cars, Roache said during a press briefing Thursday. An NECR spokesperson also said there is no indication of any leaks.

Richard Scalora, a supervising emergency response coordinator with the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, said his staff is working on several of the railcars to “assure that we don’t have any releases.”

“We’re going to continue in this position until all the rail cars are back on their wheels and safely removed from the area,” he said during the press briefing.

All residents within a half-mile of the area have been advised to shelter in place out of an abundance of caution, due to concerns over a potential natural gas leak, officials said.

No injuries have been reported, according to an NECR spokesperson.

“First responders are on scene with NECR managers to assess the situation,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “Emergency response contractors are also en route to assist with an expeditious cleanup.”

The cleanup is anticipated to take several days due to the hard-to-reach location, with crews working to gain access to the site and bring in cranes, according to Roache.

“It’s not going to be a today operation,” he said. “We’re definitely taking it slow and methodical.”

Mansfield Town Manager Ryan Aylesworth said he will be issuing an emergency declaration later Thursday, calling it a “very serious event.”

“We are blessed with natural resources in this community that we want to safeguard, and certainly potential hazardous waste spill is a serious concern,” he said during the briefing. “Fortunately, right now, it appears that the situation is under control and the public health and safety is being maintained.”

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said he is in touch with “our state emergency management and environment teams to assess any impacts regarding the train derailment involving hazardous materials in Mansfield.”  

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(LOS ANGELES) — At least three people were killed and six others were hurt when a car crashed into a grocery store in the Westwood area of Los Angeles, according to Los Angeles Fire Department officials.

It appears the driver — a woman who’s about 70 years old — lost control of her car, hitting a bicyclist and then crashing into the market, LA fire officials said.

The crash is being investigated as accidental, not intentional, officials said.

It appears some victims were trapped under the car, officials said.

Six people were injured: two suffered serious or critical injuries; two had minor or moderate injuries; and two declined to be taken to a hospital, officials said.

The driver is being evaluated and is speaking with officers, officials said.

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(NEW YORK) — The urgent search for Nancy Guthrie, the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, has entered its fifth day, as her children continue to plead for her safe return.

Nancy Guthrie is believed to have been abducted in her sleep from her Arizona home early Sunday, authorities said. No suspect or person of interest has been identified in the case, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said during a press briefing on Thursday.

“Right now, we believe Nancy is still out there,” Nanos said. “We want her home.”

Nanos confirmed Nancy Guthrie’s blood was found on her porch.

Nancy Guthrie, 84, was last seen at her home in the Catalina Foothills area, north of Tucson, on Saturday night, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department. Her family reported her missing on Sunday around noon local time after she failed to show up to church, authorities said.

Savannah Guthrie and her siblings made an emotional plea for their mother’s return in a video message posted to social media on Wednesday.

“Everyone is looking for you, Mommy, everywhere,” Savannah Guthrie said in the video message. “We will not rest. Your children will not rest until we are together again.”

Nancy Guthrie is described as having some physical ailments and limited mobility, but does not have cognitive issues, according to the sheriff. She takes medication that if she doesn’t have in 24 hours, “it could be fatal,” Nanos said.

“Our mom is our heart and our home,” Savannah Guthrie said in the video. “She is 84 years old, her health, her heart is fragile. She lives in constant pain. She is without any medicine. She needs it to survive. She needs it not to suffer.”

The sheriff’s department said it is reviewing possible ransom notes as part of the investigation. ABC Tucson affiliate KGUN said it received one of the letters, which it forwarded to law enforcement. Officials say they are investigating if any of these letters are legitimate.

Addressing reports of a ransom letter, Savannah Guthrie said Wednesday, “As a family, we are doing everything that we can. We are ready to talk. However, we live in a world where voices and images are easily manipulated. We need to know without a doubt that she is alive and that you have her. We want to hear from you and we are ready to listen. Please reach out to us.”

The FBI is helping in the investigation. The agency is sending additional agents and experts to Pima County to help reinforce efforts on the ground and to aid local investigators, sources told ABC News on Wednesday.

Nanos said earlier this week that investigators were waiting to get surveillance footage from the home’s security cameras from the companies that own them.

A Google spokesperson confirmed to ABC News on Thursday that the company, which is behind Nest home security cameras, is assisting law enforcement in the investigation. The spokesperson declined to elaborate, citing the ongoing investigation.

Anyone with information is urged to call 911 or the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at 520-351-4900.

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